DOTr to consortium: Solve PITx operational issues

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has ordered the operator of the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITx) to address several issues hounding the landport.

In his letter, Transport Undersecretary for Roads Mark de Leon asked MWM Terminals Inc. — the consortium of Megawide and Walter Mart that won a 35-year concession for PITx — to explain 10 urgent operational matters it has yet to act on since the facility’s opening last month.

De Leon’s three-page letter tackled several minor issues, from a dearth of directional signs, lenient security, to confused drivers still unaware of dispatching and scheduling procedures in the landport.

Some of these had also been raised by Sen. Grace Poe who asked the DOTr to resolve alleged irregularities and corruption issues reported in the P2.6-billion facility.

In his letter, De Leon pressed MWM to finalize the scheduling system that would ultimately cover PITx’s operations.

Flagship project

He also asked the consortium to review and modify traffic flow inside the southwest terminal hub. Commuters earlier complained that several buses enter the terminal without dropping off passengers.

The PITx, one of the flagship projects under President Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, was envisioned as a hub for provincial buses from the south in order to ease traffic on Edsa and bring passengers faster to their destinations.

But the MWM’s lack of a revised traffic plan inside the terminal instead increased travel time by “15 to 30 minutes,” De Leon noted.

He also asked the consortium to decongest the loading and unloading areas for jeepneys.

The lack of ventilation in the bays, he pointed out, posed “a threat to the health and welfare of commuters.”

He also reminded MWM to issue improved reflectorized stickers that would distinguish provincial buses from commuter line buses.

This would inform passengers which buses would terminate their trips at PITx and address complaints of fare overcharging.